


High Adventure

by MarsGem



Category: Life of the Party (Web Series)
Genre: Elyse and Astra brotp, Inspired by Aladdin (1992), Multi, Slow Burn, Thief AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 04:57:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20129713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarsGem/pseuds/MarsGem
Summary: Prince Cassian of Mokha is due to take over as Sultan within the year, but tradition demands he should be married. However, the Prince has turned down every woman presented to himMeanwhile, a peculiar pair of thieves roam Mokha's capitol, Jazirat, living their lives carefree, happy and in the way Cassian wishes he could.And, trying to remain sane in the middle of it all, is the Sultan's personal guard, Renard.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This AU just felt right.

_Elyse._

  
The sun had only just started rising over the city of Jazirat, but the streets were already alive with activity. Throughout the city merchants were setting up their stalls, laying out wares on cloth-covered tables or hanging them on wooden rails.

Stalls in the Jazirat market sold everything and anything the heart desired. From fruit and baked goods to elegant scarves and treasures from deep below the sea.

People were known to travel to Jazirat specifically for the vast market. Merchants would also travel to Jazirat to sell their wares as they knew it was a surefire way to get everything sold.

Just as the last merchant was setting up for the day, a thief and her peculiar companion walked through Jazirat in search of breakfast.

Elyse strutted down the winding streets with what she referred to as “the confidence of a thousand suns”. She moved through the streets with ease, moving between the people traffic mostly unnoticed despite her bright blue hair and red and blue clothing.

Perhaps the reason Elyse went unnoticed was her friend and partner in crime Astra. Astra wasn’t from Jazirat and it was glaringly obvious. For a start his skin was teal. His hair was green and he had a tail. And horns. Which were tipped with mother of pearl. Beside Astra, Elyse appeared very normal.

The teal creature was what was known as a tiefling. He originally lived far away in a town that was more accustomed to his kind, but he’d decided he wanted to see the world and his travels had led him to Jazirat. There he’d met Elyse and decided that after months of travelling to stay with his new friend. Elyse helped introduced Astra to a new way of living, Her lifestyle meant every day was different and exciting, which was exactly what Astra needed.

“We’re getting much to close to that stall you took bread from last night,” Astra whispered to Elyse.

“Yeah, but it’s the quickest way to this fruit stall I found yesterday,” Elyse replied, “They had these strange purple fruits that looked delicious!”

“You mean plums?” Astra asked.

Elyse shrugged, “I might, I’ll point them out to you.”

The pair did their best to hide behind the other people walking the streets of the market as they passed the stall Elyse had procured dinner from the previous day. The merchant, a large man with a big beard, looked like he could crush their heads in one hand, which wasn’t how Elyse planned for their day to go.

Once they were at a safe distance from the stall, Astra continued the conversation, “If they are plums I bet you’ll love them! They’re very tasty!”

“I’ll make sure to get extra, then,” Elyse replied with a grin, “right, off you go and find a spot to set up.”

Astra nodded. He looked around for a moment before walking off towards a statue of a monkey off to the right of the street. Astra reached into his bag and produced a hat which he placed down on the floor in front of him, he then rotated his lute so it hung in front of him rather than on his back and started to play.

Elyse smiled softly at the melodic sound of Astra’s voice. It was almost hypnotic in its beauty, which was precisely the reason Elyse had been grateful when Astra decided to stay in Jazirat. The beautiful teal creature with the mesmerising voice provided an excellent distraction.

Heads turned and people stopped to watch the musician who’d appeared to serenade them. It wasn’t just the city folk who stopped to watch, the merchants did, too. And that was the moment Elyse was waiting for. She darted between stalls swiping goods from them, moving in an almost dance-like manner. Everyone was much too busy watching her horned friend to notice that she was pocketing food and small pieces of jewellery.

It was the perfect plan.

As Astra’s song neared its end, Elyse slid into a side alley, completely unseen. Moments later there was a round of applause for Astra and shouts for more. Elyse often wondered why Astra stayed with her rather than travelling the world as a musician, he was definitely good enough.

Her wondering was interrupted by Astra appearing from around the corner. He held out his hat filled with coins, grinning, “We might actually be able to _ pay _for dinner tonight, Elyse!”

“What a treat!” Elyse grinned.

“So, what did you get?” Astra asked as he carefully put the many coins into his purse. Elyse opened her bag and showed it to Astra who reached in a pulled out one of the purple fruits Elyse had mentioned earlier, “They _ are _plums,” he handed one to Elyse before retrieving one for himself which he bit into. He closed his eyes and smiled happily as he chewed, “Oh these are delicious!”

Not wanting to miss out, Elyse bit into her own plum, “Oh! It’s hard!” She looked quizzically at the fruit, trying to figure it out.

Astra laughed, “That’s the stone. You don’t eat that bit, you have to eat around it.”

“Right, like peaches,” Elyse nodded, taking a smaller bite this time, “Okay, that’s really good.”

“Told you,” Astra replied. He nibbled around the stone then, once he’d decided he’d finished all the fruit, he pulled a hanky from his pocket and put the stone in it.

“Your commitment to not littering is admirable, Astra,” Elyse said, finishing her own plum and placing the stone in Astra’s hanky as well.

Astra shrugged, “No one wants to step on a plum stone,” he scrunched up the hanky and put it back in his pocket, “come on, we should find somewhere to sell the jewellery I know you stole, despite me telling you to do it less.”

Elyse felt her cheeks heat up, but Astra squeezed her arm, “I’m teasing,” he assured her. 

The two of them walked the opposite way down the alley to the way they entered and exited into a much quieter street. The walked mostly in silence other than Astra’s soft humming. It was the tune he’d just performed which was now stuck in his head.

It was midmorning at this point and Elyse was really feeling the heat so unwrapped one of her scarves and tucked in away into her bag. As she did so, she remembered something she’d grabbed for Astra. She pulled a golden, seashell-shaped hairpin from her bag and handed it to her friend, “Here,” she said with a grin, “it made me think of you.”

Astra gasped joyfully and took the pin to get a closer look, “It’s so pretty!” He exclaimed before sliding it into his green hair, “How do I look?”

“Like a prince!” Elyse replied.

“Ever my goal,” Astra grinned. Astra was a lover of all things pretty, it was something Elyse liked about him. The clothes he wore were mainly white and brown, but his hair, arms, hands and neck were nearly always laden with pretty trinkets he’d bought or Elyse had “_ found” _.

As it was the middle of summer Astra had opted for just wearing loose trousers and a long, flowing, sleeveless jacket for the day along with pretty gold sandals.

“Is it me or is it busier than usual today?” Elyse mused. The streets felt much more crowded than normal, even for Jazirat.

“That’s because Princess Hansa is meeting with the Prince today,” Astra said, “had you forgotten?”

“Oh yeah,” Elyse muttered, “I had forgotten.”

Prince Cassian was due to take over as sultan in a matter of months and was still single so wealthy families from all over the world were thrusting their beautiful daughters at him, hoping he’ll full desperately in love with one of them. But Cassian was contrary as they come and had refused all 14 women who’d been presented to him thus far. Every time a new potential bride appeared hoping for Cassian to propose to them, the streets would fill with nosy onlookers making their way to the palace.

All Elyse wanted was for the whole thing to be over, she was growing tired of everyone discussing Prince Cassian constantly. From what she’d heard from former palace servants he was a stuck up brat who loved no one but himself. Alas, everyone else saw the Cassian that was presented to the world. A gorgeous bachelor who you’d be lucky to even meet.

“Why do you hate him so much?” Astra asked. It was as if he could read her mind.

“Because,” Elyse said, “I’ve never heard a nice thing said about him by anyone who knows him properly. All he’s got going for himself is his looks.”

“People sometimes say that about me,” Astra replied.

Elyse turned to look up at her friend, surprised, “Really? But you’re so talented, you’re a lot more than a pretty face.”

Astra shrugged, “People are strange.”

Before long they arrived at a small shop on the corner of a crossroad which Elyse led the way into. Inside was cooler as it was out of the morning sun. Behind the counter was a wrinkled old man with a long beard and a bald head. He was busy wiping the surface of the counter and humming to himself but looked up when Elyse and Astra walked in.

“Elyse,” he smiled, “how nice to see you.”

“And you Kulvir,” Elyse replied, “you’re looking well.”

“As are you. It’s lovely to see you, too, Astra,” Kulvir added, still smiling.

Astra bobbed his head in response, “Likewise,” he replied before starting to browse an array of panflutes that hung from Kulvir’s wall.

Kulvir’s shop sold and bought pretty much everything. The stock changed each day depending on what had been brought in recently, meaning Astra always had new things to browse while Elyse handled the business side of things. In the past Kulvir had sold ornate walking sticks, hats, scarves, pretty sandals (which Astra now owned), jewellery and once a headpiece that Elyse had sworn she’d seen worn by the Sultan.

“So, what have you got for me today?” Kulvir asked. He knew everything Elyse brought in was not obtained legitimately, but he never asked questions. He just accepted what she brought and paid her for the goods.

Elyse reached into her bag and placed a handful of rings and bracelets on the counter. Kulvir picked up one of the rings and inspected it closely, “Hmm, very nice,” he murmured. Elyse watched patiently as he did the same thing for all of the jewellery. While Kulvir was admiring the stolen goods, Astra had picked up a panflute and was trying to play it. It didn’t take him long to figure it out and he was already playing a whimsical tune on it.

Kulvir looked up from the jewellery and looked at Astra who was swaying gently to his music, his eyes closed in concentration, “He’s a talented young man, isn’t he?”

“He is,” Elyse nodded, “hey, Astra!” Astra opened his eyes and stopped playing, “Want me to buy that for you?”

His amber eyes lit up and Astra nodded excitedly. He walked over to the counter and placed down the panflute, “Thank you,” he grinned.

“Shall we do a trade?” Kulvir offered, “These items for that panflute?”

“I think those are worth more than one panflute and you know it,” Elyse replied, “the panflute _ and _five gold.”

The old merchant hummed then nodded, “Very well, you saw through me,” he opened a metal box and took out five gold coins which he handed to Elyse, “pleasure doing business with you as always.”

“You too, Kulvir,” Elyse replied and put the gold coins into her purse, “I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye Kulvir!” Astra said over his shoulder as the pair left the shop.

“You look very pleased with that,” Elyse said to Astra who was looking lovingly at his new instrument.

“I love it, thank you,” Astra replied. He placed the panflute to his lips and started to play as they walked. The air filled with a hauntingly beautiful tune. People watched them walk past and Elyse caught people smiling at the sight of Astra.

It was looking like it was going to be a good day.


	2. Chapter 2

_Renard._   


“Shit, shit, shit!” Renard Amiens ran through the corridors of the palace, trying to make it to the entrance hall in time. Princess Hansa was going to be early. He hadn’t planned for this. As personal guard of the Sultan, he was required to be at his side whenever outsiders were going to be in the palace. But currently, Ren was sprinting down the stairs from his bedroom. Ren  _ was _ quick on his feet and would likely make it to his post next to the Sultan in plenty of time, not that that stopped him worrying.

The morning had been excellent until then. He’d woken up feeling well-rested for the first time in a long time. He’d shaved the stubble that had grown overnight and had a quick wash. Once finished with his small grooming routine, Ren pulled on his uniform and headed out of his room, intending to go down to the guard quarters to fetch himself breakfast.

But he was stopped on his way by a maid carrying a tray of food, “Renard! I was just coming to see you.”

“Good morning,” Ren smiled at the maid whose name escaped him at that moment, “is the Sultan okay?”

The maid nodded, “Oh yes, perfectly fine. He sent me to your room with this,” she gently pushed the tray closer to Ren. He took it from her and looked down at the plate of food accompanied by a teapot and teacup on a saucer. 

“Thank you,” Ren said before turning around and going back into his bedroom to enjoy what he assumed was leftovers from the Sultan and the Prince’s breakfast.

He sat down at the desk by the window that overlooked the city of Jazirat. He’d grown rather fond of it over the last six months - even if he didn’t actually get to explore it all that much. The view was nice all the same. The morning sun cast a golden wash over the soft beiges and creams of Jazirat making it look rather magical.

Ren put the last fork full of delicious food into his mouth and placed his cutlery down to pick up the cup of steaming green tea he'd poured himself. Something Mokha did better than any other country Ren had lived in was green tea. There was just something about it.

A breeze blew into the palace through the window, ruffling Ren’s hair slightly, prompting him to realise that he’d forgotten to tie it back. He stood up and went over to his dressing table to retrieve the string he used to tie back his long, red hair. 

He looked at his reflection in the mirror and noted the normally dark bags under his eyes weren’t as bad that morning.  _ Probably thanks to getting enough sleep _ , he thought.

At roughly 11 am, someone had knocked on Ren’s door, interrupting his morning of tea drinking and reading.

“Yes?” Ren called, sliding a bookmark into the novel he’d been slowly but surely making his way through - being a royal guard didn't leave him much time to read, but he did his best to read at least a chapter a day.

The door to Ren's bedroom opened to reveal a worried-looking servant, “Princess Hansa will be here in 10 minutes,” she said, her voice wobbled a little.

“What? She isn’t due for another hour!” And so Ren had dashed out the room as fast as he could.

As Ren skidded to a stop outside the door to the entrance hall, he sensed a presence behind him, “You shouldn’t run in the palace, Amiens,” a silky voice purred at Ren. He turned to see Prince Cassian himself standing in(rather draped against) the doorway of the stairwell that led up to his room.

Cassian sauntered over. Despite the fact that Ren towered over him, he still kept his air of superiority. He looked into Ren’s eyes with his pale amber ones and smiled, “It’s not safe,”

Ren clenched and unclenched his jaw before answering, “I was in a hurry.”

“Yes, I know,” Cassian drawled, stepping back a touch, “got to be there to protect father.”

“It is my job,” Ren replied coolly, “and I’m forever grateful I project him and not you.” Ren turned to push open the large door, “otherwise who knows where you’d be now,” he added before walking in.

The entrance hall to the palace was vast and impressive. The walls were a soft cream and everything was accented with gold and maroon. Statues of previous members of the royal family were everywhere and on one wall was a family portrait of Cassian, the Sultan and Cassian's mother. It was a very good painting, even if Ren didn't like it very much. Cassian looked smug, which was accurate but it felt like he was judging one's outfit even when he was in a painting.

The Sultan was standing off to the side with his advisor, a despicable and highly unlikeable man called Rajani. When Ren had been hired Rajani had taken an instant disliking to him, but the feeling was completely mutual. Rajani gave Ren the creeps, as did the parrot that was always perched on his shoulder. Ren was certain the bird could talk, but if it could it never did so in front of the guards or royals.

“There you are Renard,” the Sultan exhaled, “I was worried you wouldn’t make it.”

Ren straightened his uniform again and let out a short laugh, “I am never late your majesty.” He walked over to take his position to the right of the Sultan and clasped his hands behind his back.

“Ever reliable,” Rajani added. His words may have been complimentary, but his tone was definitely not. “Princess Hansa is due to arrive in five minutes,” Rajani said, “is the Prince ready?”

“I just left him in the hall,” Ren said, “I’m sure he’s made his way to the lounge by now, though.”  _ Probably sprawled dramatically on a chez lounge, eating grapes, _ Ren added in his head.

Just then the doors to the palace swung open to reveal a smartly dressed man, a young woman and several guards dressed in olive green. Apparently, five minutes had meant one.

“Princess Hansa!” The Sultan walked over to the new arrivals to greet them, “I am delighted to welcome you into my home,” Ren watched as the various royals introduced themselves. He looked Hansa up and down and had no doubt that she would be rejected like all of the others. Cassian would never be interested in her. For a start, she was wearing blue and that was his colour. 

Of course, Ren had to keep this to himself. Instead, he’d have to watch all the rich people waste their time - just like he’d done with the previous 14 women. He was starting to wonder if there as any point insisting that Cassian the Picky got married. The lack of a wife was not what would make him a bad leader. There were many, more concerning reasons.

A slight feeling of dread on behalf of Mokha washed over Ren, but he pushed it aside when he remembered he still had a bottle of wine in his room that Cassian had deemed not good enough for himself. Knowing he had a glass of wine waiting for him at the end of the day was enough motivation to watch Hansa and her family make fools of themselves.

Ren was pulled out of his thoughts when the group started to move towards the lounge. That was where they’d get to meet Cassian who’d unquestionably turn the guests away within ten minutes.

The group entered the lounge and, just as Ren had predicted, Cassian  _ was  _ draped on his chez lounge eating grapes with his pet tiger lying on the floor next to him. As insufferable as Cassian was, Ren did like his pet. Fuad the tiger was good-natured and sweet, unlike his master, and Ren had taken a liking to him.

There had been a few times when Ren was walking around the palace gardens on a day off and Fuad had decided to join him a little while. 

“Good morning, your highness,” said Hansa’s father, bowing deeply, “what an honour to meet you.” Ren had to stifle a laugh when he noticed that Fuad yawned and flopped his large head down onto his paws. He knew as well as Ren that this visit was not going to be a long one.

“Hm, yes,” Cassian hummed, “good morning your majesty, I hope your travel wasn’t too difficult.”

The King shook his head, “Not at all, we were quite comfortable,”

“Oh good, then you won’t be too upset to be making it again very soon,” Cassian stood up and walked over to Hansa, “did no one tell you blue is my colour?”

“It was mentioned, actually,” Hansa said sweetly, “I wore this for you.” Ren couldn’t help but roll his eyes.  _ People really ought to do more research into Cassian before they present themselves to him _ , Ren thought.

“That was your first mistake,” Cassian sauntered to the door, “lovely meeting you, hope to see you soon. Come on Fuad,” he said and left without another word, Fuad close behind.

Everyone stared at the door as it closed behind the tiger. That had to be quickest Cassian had rejected anyone.

“Would you like me to go after him, sire?” Rajani offered, already making for the door.

The Sultan shook his head, “No, he’s in one of his moods. I’m very sorry to have wasted your time Princess, but my son has clearly made up his mind.”

Much to Ren's annoyance, the next few minutes were filled with a loud discussion that got nowhere. The discussion mainly consisted of the King demanding that the Sultan get his son to come back and the Sultan trying to explain why that wasn’t going to happen. Eventually, Ren stepped in, his hand resting nonchalantly on his sword, to offer to lead the guests out. Which they refused and instead the King asked if he and his daughter might look around the gardens.

The Sultan sighed and agreed, “Rajani, please show our guests around the garden.” Rajani started to protest but didn’t. He knew it’d be futile.

Once they were gone the Sultan collapsed into one of the many sofas, “At this rate, I am more likely to die before Cassian has a wife.” They’d reached Ren’s least favourite part much sooner than usual. Normally there was a lot more nonsense with the Prince followed by different nonsense with the visiting royals.

“Renard,” the Sultan looked up, “would you go and speak to him?”

“Me?” Ren was surprised. That was not what he had expected.

“Yes, you’re the most sensible of the young guards working here. Perhaps you can talk some reason into him,”

Ren considered refusing, but he knew it was an argument he’d lose and so nodded, “Yes sire, shall I go now?”

“Please,” the Sultan replied. Ren nodded again and turned on his heel to go up to Cassian’s room.

He walked as slowly as he reasonably could. He didn’t want to see Cassian anymore than he had to, but this was a direct order so he had no real choice in the matter.

Before taking the job at the palace, Ren had been a mercenary, travelling the continent carrying out various jobs. One job landed him in Jazirat, during said job he’d accidentally saved the Sultan’s life and was instantly offered a job as his personal guard. The money was too good to refuse and Ren had worked there since.

It had taken a while for him to feel comfortable is Jazirat. He was much paler than most of the people who lived there and he still had yet to meet anyone else with hair that was as red as his own, let alone someone covered in freckles. He stood out like a sore thumb amongst all the dark-skinned, dark-haired citizens of Jazirat.

Ren arrived outside Cassian’s door and paused to straighten his uniform then knocked twice.

“What?” Cassian called from inside.

“Your father sent me to speak to you,” Ren said.

“Ugh. Fine. Come in,” Cassian huffed. Ren pushed open the door to find Cassian laying on his sofa reading, “I wish father would just leave me alone.” Cassian's bedroom was split into two rooms. A private lounge and then the actual bedroom. Ren glanced to the large larges that led to Cassian's room. They were closed.

Ren turned his attention back to the Prince, “Believe me, I don’t want to be here either,” he replied.

“Well, you’ve seen that I am here and alive, so you can go now,” Cassian said, barely looking up from his book. Ren considered it but opted to walk over and sit on the sofa opposite Cassian’s.

“Why do you turn down every woman who comes through the palace door?” Ren asked, his voice came out softer than he'd meant it to.

Cassian exhaled irritably and put down his book, “Because I don’t want to marry some princess whose parents think that marrying me will somehow boost their social status. Why should I marry for the sake of uniting kingdoms and/or sultanates and not for myself?”

It was a day of surprises. Ren hadn’t expected such an honest response from Cassian. He’d expected something much more shallow like “Because none of them are pretty enough” or “the king’s shoes didn’t match his belt” or something equally picky. 

“That’s actually a very good reason, your highness,” Ren said.

“I know,” Cassian replied, “and don’t call me your highness, it’s weird. Sire will do.”

“Yes, _ sire, _ ” Ren said wryly, it was nice to see Cassian was still himself, “And you  _ can  _ call me Renard. Everyone else does.”

“You may go now,” Cassian said with a wave of his hand, “and if you can convince father to stop presenting me with women, that would be wonderful,  _ Amiens _ .”

Ren raised an eyebrow at the Prince insisting on using his surname, then nodded, “I’ll see what I can do, sire.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I give Ren a surname specifically so Cassian could refer to him by his surname? Yes. Yes, I did. (Fun fact: Amiens is the name of one of the lords in As You Like It)


	3. Chapter 3

_Cassian._

The evening air was cool against Cassian’s skin. He was walking around the palace garden with Fuad, mulling over the morning. Hansa wasn’t even his type. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something about her was just completely uninteresting to him.

Upon thinking about it more, Cassian realised none of the women presented to him thus far had been in the least bit interesting. It seemed every noblewoman on the continent was a complete and utter _ bore _.

His mind involuntarily wandered to Renard Amiens. Now he was not boring. Yes, he was cold and closed off, but something about him intrigued Cassian. Perhaps it was his complete disinterest in him. Most people fell at Cassian’s feet, but Amiens didn’t care. He spoke to him with disdain, which was not the proper way to speak to the future Sultan. But Amiens didn’t seem to care. Instead, he spoke to Cassian as he spoke to his fellow guards. Like a person.

In his haze of thought, Cassian had managed to walk to the very end of the large garden. The wall in front of him was the one that met with the city. Just on the other side were commoners going about their lives, probably unaware their prince was just metres away.

While he loved his lavish life of luxury, Cassian often wondered what happened in the streets of Jazirat when royalty wasn’t there. If he went into the city looking like his absolutely iconic self, people made a fuss. The crowd would part so he could walk through with at _ least _two guards flanking him.

Normalcy was not something Cassian would ever experience. Unless… he looked at Fuad who’d given up on waiting for his master to keep moving and had flopped down to the group with his head on his paws.

“What if I went out in disguise?” Cassian said, half to himself, half to Fuad. The tiger looked up at him and pulled a face, “I just want to see what life is like when you’re not a prince.”

Fuad nudged his head against Cassian’s leg softly, it was how he showed his master affection. Cassian knelt down in front of Fuad and pressed his forehead to his friend’s.

“I promise I’ll come back,” Cassian whispered, “I’d hardly leave you forever.” Cassian stood back up and looked at the wall once more. He could easily climb it. He was fit enough and it wasn’t _ that _ high really.

Now he just needed a disguise. Which would include removing all his henna… somehow. Cassian sighed and walked back towards the palace. He could probably cover it up. That’d have to do. His henna was somewhat iconic, or so he’d been told. The other issue was that he didn’t have any plain clothes. Why would he? He could afford the best and therefore he wore _ the best _.

Then he had an idea. Amiens would have normal clothes. Cassian had seen him when he first arrived at the palace. He was dressed all in black with accents of red. Good as it looked, the outfit was very impractical for the hot climate, but then again Cassian could respect choosing style over practicality. He often did it himself.

Cassian stepped through the large doors back inside, “Fuad, go up to my room, I’ll see you in a minute,” Cassian instructed, then made his way to Amiens’ bedroom. Unlike the rest of the guards who slept downstairs, Amiens’ room was adjacent to the Sultan’s. There were adjoining doors incase the Sultan was ever in trouble. Cassian hoped it was never necessary.

Not wanting to disturb his father by making a noise, Cassian just opened the door to Amiens’ room without knocking. The guard was laying in bed without the covers and Cassian couldn’t help but steal a glance at his bare, freckle covered torso. He had to hand it to Amiens, he kept himself very fit. Even relaxed Cassian could see how toned Amiens was. But he wasn’t here to ogle the abs of a common guard, he had clothes to borrow.

There was a wardrobe on the opposite side of the room to the door which Cassian slowly walked up to. As he walked through Amiens' room Cassian took it in. He'd not been in there since Amiens had moved it. There were two swords hanging on the wall. Once was the official scimitar that all the guards carried. As far as Cassian was aware, Amiens had yet to have a need to use the sword. Next to the scimitar was a much more elegant sword. Amiens' sabre. It was sleek and suited the kind of person Amiens seemed to be better than the scimitar.

By the window was Amiens' desk. It was an organised mess. There was an inkpot with a handsome black pen next to it, a small pile of paper, what looked like a folded up map and a small box. He so wanted to investigate the box and find out what was inside, but he thought better of it. Cassian told himself it was probably dull anyway.

Once he was stood in front of the wardrobe, Cassian pulled open the doors as gently as he could. Inside were two more guard uniforms as well as the one that was unceremoniously flopped over an armchair. Each guard was given three full uniforms so they always had a clean one available.

Despite its plainness, Cassian rather liked it. It was a simple cream kurta over beige trousers and a deep maroon (the royal family’s colour) sash around their waist. Each guard also wore brown boots, a brown leather chest plate that was worn beneath the kurta and a brown belt to hold their swords. Most guards also wore a maroon turban, but Amiens chose not to. Cassian had asked once and Amiens just said he didn’t feel comfortable in one.

Next to the uniforms hung the clothes Amiens had arrived in. Black trousers, a loose white shirt, a long and elegant black coat-

“WHO THE FU- _ Cassian?! _” Cassian spun around to see Amiens was sat bolt upright in bed glaring at him. Now he was sat up, Cassian noticed Amiens had a ring on a string around his neck. It appeared to be a simple bronze band. Cassian also noticed that he had a long healed scar on his chest maybe ten centimetres away from his heart. It looked about the size of the blade of the average pocket knife. That simple mark had a story and Cassian was intrigued to know what the story was, though he'd have to ask another time.

Cassian calmly smiled at Amiens and clasped his hands behind his back, “Sorry, I was trying not to wake you.”

Amiens blinked, “Why are you in my room?” 

“Oh, I was just going to borrow some clothes,” he pointed behind him to the open wardrobe.

“_ Why? _”

“I wanted to go out into the city,” Cassian admitted. There was no point lying. Amiens had a real knack for detecting when someone was lying to him. Cassian had learned that the hard way when he’d lied about the reason a now-former guard was in his bed very not dressed.

Amiens swung his legs out of bed, walked over to the armchair and picked up his undershirt, “I’m coming with you.”

“You most certainly are not,” Cassian replied, folding his arms, “I am going alone. I want to borrow clothes in order to blend in and see what it's like to be a commoner in the city.”

“It’s not safe,” Amiens replied, hurriedly tugging his shirt over his head. Being accompanied by Amiens completely defeated the point! Either he went alone or not at all.

Cassian walked to where Amiens was now pulling on his trousers and placed a hand on his shoulder, “Please. Let me have an adventure without a babysitter.”

Amiens sighed and stood up to his full height. Cassian wasn’t intimidated by the fact that Amiens was taller than him. He wasn’t that much taller anyway. Especially without his boots.

“I don’t own any clothes that will help you blend in, but if you can wait until tomorrow evening to go, I will see about getting you some, okay?” Amiens said, his arms were folded over his chest and he was giving Cassian his best Stern Guard Face.

“Fine,” Cassian agreed, “is there a catch?”

“You have to be back by midnight or I’ll come looking for you with several other guards and you’ll look foolish,” Amiens said.

A few hours of freedom would have to do, Cassian decided. Plus this way he had longer to figure out a way to cover his henna.

“It’s a deal,” Cassian extended his hand for Amiens to shake, but he just turned around, stripped back down to his drawers and headed to his bed.

“Get out of my room, Prince,” Amiens said coolly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I heard that Renard Amiens had an eight pack. That Renard Amiens was shredded.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spot the Les Mis reference ;)

_Elyse._

  
Elyse and Astra sat on the roof of one of the tallest buildings in the city eating a feast of a picnic. With the money Astra had earned busking that day they’d been able to _ buy _ a bottle of wine to go with the food that they’d also _ bought _. They’d bought falafel from one of the few stalls that still remained open. Along with their falafel pitas they had an array of fruit spread across the blanket they’d put out. It was Elyse’s version of heaven.

“Do you think you’ll ever leave Jazirat?” Astra asked between mouthfuls. Elyse was momentarily surprised by the question and shot Astra a look. He swallowed his food and continued his thought, “I was looking at the city and wondered if _ I’d _ leave which then turned into wondering if you would,” he clarified.

“I’m not sure,” Elyse replied, “this is my home. I’ve lived here since before my parents died. I don’t know where I’d go.”

“I’d like to take you to my home town,” Astra mused, “it’s much colder there, mind, you’d have to wear a coat for the first time in your life,” he added.

“I’ve lived in the heat my whole life, a cold climate would be bizarre!” Elyse laughed. But she couldn’t deny that she liked the idea of travelling. But travel required money and her current lifestyle meant she earned enough to survive one day at a time. It was both freeing and constricting

It hadn’t always been like that, though. As a child, she’d never wanted for anything. Her parents were by no means rich, but they got by. Her father was a tailor, a good one, too. He once made clothes for Prince Cassian when he was a toddler. That job alone had rent paid for three months. The Prince was an expensive child.

While her dad was the main breadwinner, Elyse’s mum was a washerwoman and earned enough to not feel like she had to rely solely on her husband when she had to pay for anything. When she was 12 Elyse had every intention to do something Important with her life. Something big and exciting! Like a traveller who discovered new countries!

But then her dad died suddenly, leaving Elyse and her mum to look after themselves. That hadn’t been so bad. They'd got by with her mum’s wages and what was left to them by her dad. Then her mum died too and the money she’d had aside only lasted so long.

Day three of being hungry and living on nothing but water was what led Elyse to theft. She stole a large loaf of bread. That was it. She made it last for a few days, too. But she got hungry again. So she stole another loaf from a different stall. 

Elyse knew she couldn’t really live off bread and water so she stole an apple. And then another. And soon Elyse was stealing full meals and getting away with it. She wasn’t caught until she got cocky and tried to take a bottle of wine(age 17). That landed her with three days in jail. Which was lucky really, she’d heard of people getting 19 years just for a loaf of bread.

From then on she got better and better. So much so that she hadn’t been caught since. There had been close calls, sure, but she hadn’t found herself tackled to the ground by an over-enthusiastic guard in years.

And now she had Astra who she swore was _ actually _magic with his ability to hold the attention of a crowd just nothing but his lute and voice.

“I admit this heat took getting used to,” Astra said, “but it’s just an excuse to wear less,” he grinned. Astra was very clearly proud of his body.

Elyse picked up the last plum and bit into it, “If you’ve got it flaunt, huh?”

“Exactly!” Astra exclaimed. He licked his fingers clean of the juice from the apple he’d just finished then reached for his lute and started to strum and sing, “I thought I heard the Old Man say: "Leave her, Johnny, leave her." Tomorrow you will get your pay and it's time for us to leave her. Leave her, Johnny, leave her! Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her! For the voyage is long and the winds don't blow and it's time for us to leave her.”

Elyse listened as Astra went through several verses of the bouncy song. His accent grew stronger with each verse and really picked up by the third round of the chorus. It was what Astra referred to as a sea shanty. He said sailors would sing them and he’d picked them up on his travels.

They were good fun and by the end, Elyse was always joining in with the chorus.

But the fun had to come to an end eventually. The friends packed up their things and carefully climbed back down from the building they would often have their dinner on top of. On their way back home they shared the still half-full bottle of wine. It was actually pretty good considering how cheap it had been.

They had walked into a shop and requested their cheapest wine which landed them with the bottle they were now drinking. The friendly intimacy of sharing a bottle of wine was something Elyse always enjoyed.

Before long they rounded a corner into a dead-end alley that was the entrance to the place they called home. In order to get in, they had to scale a wall which Elyse had hammered pegs into a few years ago when she’d had to flee the house she’d grown up in. A few metres up was a window that you’d climb through and into an abandoned attic. It was likely abandoned due to the gaping hole in one of the walls. Elyse assumed it was once a window because one edge had a right angle too perfect to not be man-made.

Elyse walked over to the mat that was her bed and lay down. She was absolutely exhausted. Astra, however, walked to the hole in the wall and stared out over the city. Elyse rolled onto her side to watch her tiefling friend.

Astra leaned against the wall and sighed wistfully. Elyse could only see his back, but she didn’t doubt that he had his eyes closed.

After a few minutes, she watched him pull out his journal and start to write as he did every night. Elyse sometimes wondered what Astra wrote about, but it was such a private thing. She didn’t want to overstep, no matter how close they’d become in the last month.

Before long Astra finished writing and closed the journal. He put it back into his bag and walked over to his bed to start to remove all his pieces of jewellery and untie the plaits in his hair. It was a process that was for sure. Elyse enjoyed watching, though. She found the speed at which Astra was able to undo his plaits impressive.

She’d found even more respect for her friend when he’d styled her hair similarly to his own and it’d taken ages for her to get half the plaits out. In the end, she gave up and enlisted Astra’s help.

“That’s such an event,” Elyse teased.

Astra turned to look at Elyse and shrugged, “They price I pay to look pretty, eh?”

“It’s worth it, really helps distract people for me,” Elyse said, “plus you look great.” She added to make sure Astra knew she appreciated him for more than just his knack for distraction.

Most evenings since Astra moved in Elyse wondered how she’d got by without company for so long. Having someone to share the thrills in life with made everything so much more fun. That and having someone to speak to meant she wasn’t so lonely.

Elyse enjoyed her own company as much as the next person. But after years of solitude and the closest she had to friends being people she sold wares to, Astra had been a breath of fresh air.

“Don’t worry, I know you don’t just keep me around because I’m helpful,” Astra assured her. So often it was as though he could read her mind. Elyse knew he couldn’t, but sometimes she really did wonder. It seemed as though he always knew exactly what to say.

Elyse reached over and squeezed Astra’s leg, “Night Astra,”

“Night Elyse,” he replied, squeezing her hand in return.

* * *

The following afternoon Elyse and Astra were laying next to the canal that cuts through the western region of Jazirat. It was a popular spot for tourists to sit and watch the world go by. Boats bobbed along the canal, no one was in a hurry, least of all Elyse and Astra.

“That one looks like a camel,” Astra said, pointing to a cloud that _ only very vaguely _ looked like a camel when Elyse squinted.

“That one looks like an apple,” Elyse said, pointing to an almost round cloud.

Astra snorted, “Yeah, and an orange and a peach and a-”

“Okay, it’s not that inventive,” Elyse laughed and gave her friend a soft smack on the arm.

Cloud gazing was an activity that the pair often shared to pass the time. It was really just an excuse to laze around in the sun, soaking up the warmth.

“That one looks like the Prince!” Astra said excitedly, “Look, it has the same uppity expression,”

Elyse burst out laughing. Astra was spot on! She wasn’t sure _ how _ a cloud had an expression, but this one did and really did resemble Prince Cassian.

“I wonder how the visit he had yesterday went,” Astra mused, “he’s turned away everyone who’s tried so far, so I bet this one was the same.”

“I heard some people talking yesterday,” Elyse said, “and apparently the Princess left within twenty minutes of arriving.”

“Huh,” Astra didn’t say anything else for a little while before he finally spoke again, “I don’t understand why the Prince needs to be married to be sultan.”

“Tradition I suppose,” Elyse said with a shrug, “I think everyone’s used to seeing a sultan with a permaisuri.”

Astra turned to look at Elyse, his face scrunched up in confusion, “A what now?”

“A permaisuri. It’s what a sultan’s wife is called,” Elyse explained, “like kings have queens, sultans have a permaisuri.”

“Huh.” Astra considered it for a moment then rotated onto his back again and returned to staring up at the sky.

As the pair lay staring up at the sky, a certain guard was rushing through the city on the hunt for an outfit unfit for a prince.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a moment in this chapter where you should listen to One Jump Ahead from Aladdin while reading. You'll know when.

_Renard._

_   
Why am I doing this? _ Was the main thought running through Ren’s head as he walked through the streets of Jazirat. He shouldn’t have been encouraging Cassian’s idiotic behaviour. It was a nightmare! But here he was, looking for clothes to make the most flamboyant man he’d ever met look _normal_. He'd have better luck trying to make a mouse look terrifying.

Waking up to find Cassian rummaging through his clothes had been an experience, to say the least. It wasn’t exactly a common occurrence(well, it was the first time) and Ren dearly hoped it wouldn’t become one. He did, however, enjoy how much Cassian’s eyes darted down to his toned body.

Ren wasn’t one to flaunt his physic. He liked to keep his body covered most of the time, but the hot temperatures that came with living so close to the equator meant he nearly always slept only in his drawers. And so when nosy princes without boundaries snooped in his room Ren would, of course, be caught in a lot less than he’d usually be seen wearing.

But, despite his usual modesty, Ren had to admit he'd been flattered by all of Cassian's stolen glances. He may have flexed a little just to probably show off his abs.

That morning he’d woken up bright and early to head out for a walk he’d been planning since the evening before. He’d decided that since it was his first day off in a while he’d make the most of living near(ish) the sea and talk a walk. As he was very pale and the sun was very hot, Ren added a sun repellant to his morning routine. The Sultan had introduced him to it after Ren got a nasty sunburn during his first outside guarding job.

Ren dressed quickly then sat down to write a note to Cassian, promising to be back with his disguise by 5 pm. That’d give him plenty of time. In theory, more than enough.

Armed with the note, his map and a flask of water, Ren headed through the palace in search of a maid who’d be able to get the note to the royal-pain-in-his-arse. It didn’t take too long, there were plenty of maids rushing around making sure breakfast was ready for when the Sultan, Rajani and Cassian were awake.

Six months in and Ren still couldn’t get his head around why Rajani was treated with such importance. It wasn’t his place to ask, though, so he kept his thoughts to himself.

Note delivered, Ren made his way out of the castle and in the direction of the sea.

Roughly half an hour later the glistening turquoise ocean was in view and the wind was blowing through Ren’s hair. It was blissful. The sound of seagulls filled the air, mingled with the soft crashing of waves. Ren took in a deep breath of the salty air before pulling off his boots and rolling up his trousers.

He spent a good half an hour walking along the shoreline, just close enough to the sea that it’d lap over his bare feet every so often. There and then Ren decided that he’d walk along the shore on all of his following days off, it turned out to be an excellent antidote to the chaos of the Mohka royal family.

But even on his day off, Ren had work to do and so he reluctantly pulled his boots back on and made his way into the city. On the three or so mile walk back it dawned on Ren that he had no idea where to start. It had been so long since Ren had any cause to buy clothes. Clothing merchants, obviously, but where would sell bland, cheap clothes that no one would look at twice?

Feeling a little overwhelmed at the prospect of a long day of shopping, Ren made sure his first stop was breakfast. He was absolutely delighted to find a tea shop that he could sit in and drink fruity tea to fuel his hunt for the cheapest(and ugliest) outfit he could find.

Once he was refreshed with tea, Ren headed into the busy market to fight through crowds of people wanting to shop or sell or get in his way.

While he was searching, it occurred to Ren that he didn’t leave the castle alone that often. At all, really. He was always at the Sultan’s side. It was his job and Ren was committed to his work, even if that did mean he didn’t explore the city he’d called home for six months.

He took the flask that hung from his belt and gulped down the cool water within. He was going through it quickly and knew he’d had to stop to refill it soon.

Just when he was starting to feel a bit listless, Ren saw a signpost stating that the Ozcan Canal was nearby. He could get more water and possibly have a sit down at the same time. Cassian didn’t need his clothes until that evening, he could take a break.

Ren followed the sign to the canal and sure enough, he found the long expanse of water. There was a large area by the canal filled with people sitting or laying in groups, chatting, eating and just enjoying the day.

A few people glanced at him, but Ren was used to it. He often got looks for his appearance when he was out in Jazirat. He couldn’t blame people, he was a sight. In an attempt to look less conspicuous, because the royal guards did stand out, Ren had opted to wear his black trousers and loose white shirt instead of the uniform. Once he was in the city Ren realised that he stood out in a different way in his chosen outfit. On top of the western clothes, Ren had a sword hanging from his belt.  He may not have been wearing his uniform, but he didn’t feel comfortable when unarmed, therefore, sabre.

After a little scouting, Ren settled on a spot by the canal to sit down and rest. He’s spotted a water fountain by one of the shops that resided next to the canal which he intended to go to once he’d had a sit-down.

The turquoise water in front of him looked so inviting that it didn’t take long for Ren to give in and pull off his boots, roll up his trousers and dangle his feet in the water much like various other city folk had opted to do. The surface was warm, but after a couple of centimetres, the water was cool and calming.

It was pure heaven. That fact that he’d paddled twice in one day made Ren smile. It was like being a child again, when he’d run through streams, playing knights and princesses with his friends.

Ren even allowed himself a moment to close his eyes, something he didn’t often do in public. He was always on alert. His days as a mercenary had taught him to keep his wits about him. But no one knew him Jazirat, especially out of uniform.

Feeling a little anxious, Ren opened his eyes again and looked around the square at the various people. To his right, there was a young family laughing together about something the father had said. And then, to his left, Ren saw the strangest sight. Right there, in Jazirat, a city almost exclusively inhabited by humans, was a  _ teal  _ tiefling. He and his friend were standing up having been sunbathing as far as Ren could guess. The tiefling picked up a lute that had been laying next to him on the floor and slung it around his back before the pair then wandered off.

Ren couldn’t help but stare. He had never seen a tiefling in Jazirat, but there one was, clear as day,  _ well I never _ , he thought.

After ten minutes of soaking up the sun and dangling his feet in the Ozcan Canal, Ren decided that he really ought to get back to work and so, reluctantly, stood up.

Once he’d pulled his boots back on, he headed over to the water fountain and filled up his flask. He took a quick drink before he then fastened it to his belt once more.

Now back to the task at hand. Ren decided he might as well try the market, it often had basically everything anyone could ask for, so it probably had some cheap clothes.

Ren headed back into the centre of the city where the majority of the market was. He walked past all kinds of stalls selling many things that he did not need. He briefly stopped to buy an apple when his stomach rumbled irritably, but besides that, he still wasn’t having much luck.

Then, finally, he saw something. There was a stall run by a pretty woman wearing a pale blue hijab. The clothing items at the stall looked used. Clear ridges where repairs had been made, some frayed sleeves and even the odd patch in a fabric that only nearly matched the garment’s actual colour. Perfect.

Ren approached the woman who smiled at him warmly, “Afternoon,” he said with a slight nod of his head.

“Hello, sir, can I help you at all?” The stall owner asked.

“Yes,” Ren went to the rail that held the various second-hand clothes, “I want a full outfit of your cheapest items.”

With the help of the lovely women, whose name was Nadja, Ren found a blue kurta, grey trousers with a purple patch over the right knee and dark grey headscarf - Ren figured a way for Cassian to hide his face would be beneficial.

Nadja folded the clothes and fastened them together with string to form an easy to carry parcel.

“Thank you so much,” Ren said, then had a thought, “I don’t suppose you know where I might find some shoes?”

“There are plenty of stalls which sell shoes just down there,” Nadja pointed down to her left, “very cheap ones at that.”

“Wonderful, thank you for your help,” Ren nodded at her again and walked off in the direction Nadja had pointed.

He was feeling very pleased with himself. He’d accomplished what he’d set out to do and still had plenty of time to get back to the palace before the evening. Ren just hoped the fussy prince would appreciate his efforts.

Suddenly, beautiful music filled the air. It was a lute.  _ It couldn’t be the tiefling, could it? _ Ren walked further down the street, making note of a stall selling shoes on his way, then turned a corner into an open square that was packed with people and stalls, all of whom had stopped to watch the tiefling perform. He was singing a sweet song about a rabbit and the whole crowd was transfixed. All but one.

Darting between the market stalls and around the mostly still crowd in an almost dance-like manner was the blue-haired friend of the tiefling and Ren could have sworn he saw her grab items off the stalls.

Ren glanced back at the tielfing, then to the crafty thief. Then it clicked. They were working together to distract the merchants so the blue-haired woman could rob them! He may not have been in uniform, but Ren was still a guard. He quickly darted into a shop, “Please could you hold these for me?” He asked the young man behind the counter as he dumped his parcel in front of him. Before the man could answer Ren ran back out of the shop and towards the blue-haired woman.

A very large man got in his way when he was just about to catch the thief, but he made eye contact with her, “Stop right there!” He shouted, but obviously, the woman didn’t stop. Instead, she shouted something Ren didn’t quite hear, causing the tiefling to stop his song instantly, grab a brown cloth hat from the ground and run off after the blue-haired woman.

Not about to let a thief get away, Ren took chase. His feet pounded on the sandstone paths as he bolted after the thieves. Their unique appearances meant they stood out a mile off, which was incredibly useful for a chase.

Ren darted nimbly around annoyed city folk who’d clearly just been pushed by the fleeing thieves, “Sorry!” Ren kept shouting as he went.

The thieves didn’t seem to be tiring, no matter how fast or far they went. They knew the city better than Ren, which gave them an advantage over him. He'd have to start learning the layout so he had the upper hand next time he found himself chasing criminals.

They turned a corner, so did Ren. They vaulted obstacles, so did Ren. They climbed up buildings, so did Ren. They ran off buildings, so di- “Shit!” Ren skidded to a halt at the edge of a very high building. The thieves had somehow made it across the very big gap between the two buildings. Ren scanned the top of the building opposite the one he stood on. The one he’d just watched the two thieves jump off. There was a long plank of wood haphazardly placed in the middle of the open space. That’d do it.

He’d lost them.

Annoyed and defeated Ren walked back to the shop in which he’d left his purchase and wondered if he’d get a chance to catch the thieves. They couldn’t be allowed to keep taking from good merchants just trying to make a living.


	6. Chapter 6

_Cassian.  
_

The following morning Cassian leapt out of bed with such enthusiasm that Fuad (who slept on the end of the bed) was startled awake.

“Sorry,” Cassian said, rushing to Fuad to gently stroke his soft orange face, “I’m just excited to explore the city by myself.”

Cassian grabbed a long, silk dressing gown that was hanging from a bedpost and pulled it around himself then slipped his feet into the matching slippers. The next stop was the mirror. Perfection as always, even minutes after waking up. He hummed to himself as he pushed open his bedroom doors and stepped into his private lounge where a steaming pot of fruit tea would be waiting for him.

Sure enough, the moment the doors to the lounge were open, the air was filled with the sweet aroma of grapefruit tea. Cassian sat down on his chez lounge, his favourite piece of furniture, and reached for the teapot when he spotted a cream envelope with  _ For Sire _ scrawled on it in elegant handwriting.

Fuad plodded over and hopped up onto the chez lounge, “Tea can wait,” Cassian muttered to himself and picked up the letter. He opened it up and took out the paper within which had the same handwriting in perfectly straight lines.

“Sire,” Cassian read aloud to Fuad, “I have gone into the city this morning to see if I can find you some suitable clothes for your disguise. You can expect me back to the palace at approximately 5 pm. Please try to cover up your henna otherwise everyone will know who you are. Yours, Renard Amiens.” Cassian laid the letter back down on the table and picked up the teapot. So Amiens was spending his day off running errands for him. It was very sweet of him to do and it wasn’t like Cassian could do it himself.

He carefully poured the pink tea into the teacup on the tray then placed the pot back down again. Despite the slight annoyance and embarrassment of being caught, Cassian was glad he had Amiens in on the plan. It meant someone knew where he was should something happen. Not that he assumed anything would, as far as Cassian was concerned, Jazirat was very safe.

Cassian picked the letter up again and admired Amiens’ handwriting. Considering Mokhanan wasn’t his first language, he spoke and wrote it very well. 

“I suppose I should go down for breakfast,” Cassian said to Fuad who’d all but fallen back to sleep, “well, you’re good company, aren’t you?” He laughed softly and ruffled the big cat’s fur. Tea in hand, Cassian stood up and left the room to go down to the dining hall where his father would undoubtedly be enjoying breakfast already, creepy advisor and all.

There was no hiding that Cassian strongly disliked Rajani. He was possessive and often overstepped. He had no respect for the Sultan’s rank, either.  _ As soon as I’m sultan, Rajani will be gone, _ Cassian vowed, not for the first time.

Cassian swanned through the open doors of the dining hall where, sure enough, his father sat deep in conversation with Rajani. The advisor’s blasted bird was perched on his shoulder as always. He was certain the bird had called him ugly once and since then he’d had a personal vendetta against it.

“Aah, Cassian,” his father smiled from his place at the table, “good morning.”

“Morning, father,” Cassian replied as he took his seat next to his father and started to help himself to breakfast. There was another pot of the pink grapefruit tea waiting for him so he topped up his nearly empty cup.

“Sleep well?” his father asked through a mouthful of… Cassian really couldn't figure out what he was eating.

Cassian nodded, “Yes, thank you,” he found it hard to speak to his father when Rajani was there. The advisor was always watching him and it made him uncomfortable. Those beady black eyes were stuck to him like glue.

“I’m pleased,” his father replied, “now, Rajani, tell me more about your…” Cassian zoned out and focused on planning a way to cover his golden henna. He’d first discovered the unique henna when his mother had given it to him as a gift for his tenth birthday. She said it was from a wizard in a faraway land. Cassian had immediately insisted that his mother draw a pattern on his hand. The way the golden henna look against his sienna skin made his eyes light up and since then he’d always worn it. With his mother’s help, he’d become very good at creating his own patterns.

He looked at his hand and admired his work. His current favourite patterns to do were flowers. Specifically lotuses. They were such pretty flowers that it seemed obvious that he’d draw him on his skin.

Once Cassian had finished eating his breakfast, he stood up, bid his father good day and walked out of the room. He paused in the corridor for a moment, pondering how he might go about covering his work then had a spark of an idea. He turned left and made his way towards the palace kitchen.

The idea was to borrow some spices and see if he could turn them into a sort of paste that would coat the henna tattoos. It was worth a shot.

The kitchen wasn’t someone Cassian often went, so it took him a couple of tries to find it. In fact, he very rarely went into the lower floor of the palace. That was where the servants (apart from Amiens) lived, he had no need to go down there.

A few more wrong turns later Cassian finally found the kitchen and pushed open the simple door. He was hit with the smell of cooking and the sounds of pots and pans clanking, mingled with loud chatter. All the noise stopped the moment the cooks noticed Cassian standing in the door in his midnight blue dressing gown and slippers.

“Your highness,” one cook said, rushing over to Cassian, “was breakfast not satisfactory?”

Cassian shook his head, “No, breakfast was very nice. I’m here to borrow some spices.”

The cook looked confused, “Spices? May I ask why?”

“No,” Cassian sauntered through the kitchen to the spice rack and started to pick up any that vaguely resembled his skin tone. He put the bottles into his pockets then picked up a clean pestle and mortar from the counter. He’d see them being used to crush food and he felt it might be useful for mixing.

He walked back to the door of the kitchen and before he left he looked over his shoulder and said, “One of you send up a jug of warm water,” then left.

Once he was back in his room, Cassian placed down the pestle and mortar, then emptied his pockets of the spices. Not wanting to dirty his nicest dressing gown, he took it off and swapped it for an older one. It was green and somehow made his eyes look murky yellow rather than their usual brilliant amber.

Just as Cassian was sitting down to set to work, there was a knock at the door, “Enter,” he said and in came one of the cooks with a tray, on which there was a jug of water, “place it here,” Cassian gestured to the table in front of him lazily. The cook did as she was told.

“Anything else, sire?”

“That will be all,” Cassian said, dismissing her. The cook scurried away, shutting the door behind her.

“Right,” Cassian looked at everything laid out in front of him, “how hard can this be?”

* * *

Cassian leaned on the banister of his balcony that overlooked the city. It was just gone five and Amiens wasn’t back yet. He was meant to be back.

After many hours of trial and error, Cassian had managed to create a paste that not only matched his skin tone but also managed to cover the gold of the henna. He was feeling rather pleased with himself.

The sun was low in the sky, not close to setting, but still well past its midway point. It was one of Cassian’s favourite times of the day. The dry heat of the day finally started to go down and the city started to come alive in a way Cassian could actually see. Windows started to glow with candlelight and tourists could be seen leaving the city after a day of exploring and shopping.

One of Cassian’s favourite days of the year was the midsummer festival. It was one of the days he got to leave the palace and explore the city at least somewhat. He would wear oranges, yellows and reds, just like everyone else in the city. Last year he’d looked like he was on fire with the way the fabric flowed behind him, he’d been the centre of attention wherever he went.

This year he planned to wear feathers. That was the pitch he’d given his tailor. Feathers. It was going to be spectacular.

His daydreaming was abruptly interrupted by a two firm knocks on the door. Amiens.

“Come in,” Cassian said in a sing-song manner. In stepped Amiens, dressed in his own clothes rather than his usual guard uniform. In his arms was a bundle of clothes.

“Sorry I’m a bit late,” Amiens said, dropping the rough-looking clothes onto the chez lounge, “I had a bit of an... incident. Don't worry, once I'm finished here I'll be reporting it to the other guards.”

“No matter,” Cassian waved his hand, barely acknowledging what Amiens had just said and went over to inspect the outfit he'd presented him with. He picked up the brown sandals that were on the top of the pile. They were well worn and hideous, “I think I might catch something from these, Amiens.” Cassian said.

Amiens folded his arms, “You wanted to blend in. This is how. Deal with it, pretty boy.”

“Aw, you think I’m pretty,” Cassian deadpanned. He placed the sandals back down then pulled at the string that fastened the clothes together. On top was the blue kurta. The edges were frayed and the fabric looked cheap. For the briefest moment, Cassian thought he might throw up.

The trousers and scarf were equally poor quality. No one would look at him twice, he had no doubt about it.

“Thank you,” Cassian said to Amiens who’d been watching him inspecting the clothes with a smug look on his face.

“You’re welcome,” Amiens replied, “I’ll meet you in the garden in ten minutes,” he added and left.

Reluctantly Cassian stripped down and changed into the scratchy clothes. He did appreciate that Amiens had bought him blue clothes. At least they were his colour, even if they were probably two gold in total.  _ Hm, I ought to pay him back _ , he thought and walked over to his dresser. He pulled open one of the drawers and retrieved a purse, from which he withdrew three gold coins. He imagined that would cover both the clothes and Amiens’ time.

Cassian put the coins in his pocket, then got a few more so he had money for being out in the city. It was suddenly all feeling very real.

Last order of business was covering the henna. Cassian had left his bowl of paste on his dresser so he had a mirror to look into when applying it to his forehead.

He started to smear the paste over his golden markings He was pleased with the result, as long as no one looked at him too closely, they'd never know.

Paste applied, Cassian wrapped the scarf around his head in a sort of hood, bid Fuad goodbye and headed into the gardens to meet Amiens.

The guard was casually leaning against the wall Cassian was about to scale, his arm closed and his eyes closed revealing that he even had freckles on his eyelids.

"There you are," Amiens said before he'd even opened his eyes.

"It's been less than ten minutes, Amiens." Cassian grumbled as he approached, "I may not look like it right now, but I  _ am  _ still your prince, so don't take that tone with me."

Amiens just rolled his eyes, "Okay  _ your highness _ ," he walked up to Cassian to meet him halfway.

"Piss off," Cassian replied. He pulled four gold coins from his pocket and put them in Amiens' hand, "For the clothes and your trouble."

Amiens eyed the coins in his hand then gave Cassian an amused look, "Do you know what anything is worth, Cassian?"

"I can take the money back-"

"No, thank you, this will do," Amiens said quickly, pocketing the gold quickly before Cassian could take it back.

Cassian eyed the wall he had to climb, “Mind giving me a boost?” He asked.

“That’s why I’m here,” Amiens said, going back to the wall to position himself in a crouch with his hands cupped in front of him as a sort of step, “Don’t think I’m here to make sure you leave safely or anything like that.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Cassian said. He placed one of his feet onto Amiens’ hand-step and took hold of the wall.

“Three, two, one!” At one, Amiens launched Cassian upwards. He pulled himself upwards and placed a foot on one of the bricks that stuck out more than the others. Slowly but without too much trouble, Cassian climbed up the wall. Soon enough he was able to swing a leg over and was sitting on the wall.

“You can go now,” Cassian said to Amiens who was still watching him.

“Right. Be careful, okay?”

“Oh don’t act as if you care,” Cassian laughed, “we both know you’re only pretending to because you’re paid to.”

“Only paid to care about your father,” Amiens pointed out, “but you’re right,” he added quickly, “don’t give a shit. I only care because I’ll lose my head if you die.”

“Figures,” Cassian replied then swung his legs over the other side of the wall and lowered himself down without another word.

Once he was safely on the ground again, Cassian looked up at the wall. He was out. It was unbelievable. He’d finally managed to get out of the palace. Even if it was only going to be for a few hours. He had until midnight to explore before Amiens raised the alarm.

Even though he knew he didn’t, a small part of Cassian did hope that Amiens had meant it when he sounded worried. But it was just that if Cassian got hurt and his father knew Amiens was involved, Amiens  _ would _ be put to death. It was in his best interest to be worried.

Now that the hard part was over, Cassian realised he had no plan. All he had was a pocket full of money and nowhere to go but _away_. He’d never felt so directionless. If he didn’t have anywhere to be, he would just be in the palace. If he had somewhere to be, he’d be accompanied by guards and told precisely where to be when and probably  _ what _ to be, too. But now?

“Is this freedom?” Cassian muttered aloud. He whooped excitedly, he decided he liked freedom.

The only thing to do now, Cassian decided, was pick a direction and walk in it. He chose left, towards the sound of music. He wasn’t aware of any event happening that night, but perhaps it wasn’t one that would be worth a royal visit? Normally he’d turn his nose up at that sort of event, but this time he was going to enjoy it!

As he got closer, the music got louder and he could make out voices singing together. The thicker and more difficult to walk through the people traffic got, the louder the music grew. Soon the music was deafening and the crowd near impossible to navigate.

Then he found the source of the music. There was a small group of musicians playing enthusiastically, but the main attraction was a weird teal creature who was playing an instrument Cassian had only seen paintings of. The teal creature was singing and dancing with several people, everyone looked delighted and the crowd was clapping in time. Before he’d realised he was doing it, Cassian had started to join in.

At the end of the song, Cassian cheered with the rest of the crowd. The teal man bowed deeply and gestured around to everyone he was performing with.

“More!” The crowd began to yell and Cassian joined in, he really wanted to hear another song.

Much to everyone’s delight, the teal man started another song and everyone followed his lead. It was truly glorious.

“He’d good, isn’t he?” Cassian turned to the source of the voice to see a woman grinning proudly at the performer. She was gorgeous. Her eyes and hair were both a bright blue like Cassian had never seen and her smile made his heart stop.

“Yeah,” Cassian managed, “what’s his name?”

“Astra,” the woman replied, “he’s my best friend, I love seeing everyone appreciate him as much as I do.”

“That’s so sweet,” Cassian said and found he actually meant it. He rarely said nice things about other people, but just the fact that this woman was friends with the teal man- with  _ Astra _ made Cassian want to know him, too, “I didn’t catch your name,” he added to the woman.

“Elyse, yours?”

“Cas-” he stopped himself in time, she couldn’t know his real name, it may give him away, “on. It's Cason.”

“Nice to meet you!” Elyse said, stretching a hand out for Cassian to shake, which he did happily.

“So do you do this often?” He asked, looking back at Astra who was still dancing cheerfully.

Elyse nodded, “Yeah, but he doesn’t often have so many people join him. He’s in his element when he’s performing.”

“I can see that,” Cassian watched the man move as if he were made of music. It was like he was _destined _for performing.

Eventually, Astra took his final bow and the crowd started to part. Cassian was actually looking forward to meeting Astra, he wanted to tell him how talented he was. At that moment he was already making plans to invite Astra and Elyse to his next birthday so the former could perform.

“Astra!” Elyse ran to her friend and hugged him tightly, “That was so good!”

Astra grinned, “Thanks, oh, who’s your friend?” He said nodding to Cassian.

“Cason,” Cassian stretched a hand out to Astra.

Astra did another big grin that showed off his spiky teeth, “Verdant Astra, a pleasure to meet you, Cason. Did you enjoy the show?”

“Very much!” Cassian replied, “I’ve heard a lot of music in my time, but that was something else.”

Astra blushed and looked down at the ground, “That’s very kind of you.”

“I mean it,” Cassian said and he really did.

Elyse, who’d been keeping quiet, spoke up again, “Hey, Cason, fancy getting dinner with us? It’ll give you a chance to boost Astra’s ego some more,” he gave her friend a poke, “not that you need it.”

“I’d love to!” Cassian nodded. He didn’t want to miss an opportunity to spend more time with Elyse. He found himself wanting to know everything about her. He’d met so many women over the past few months and now he’d found one he actually wanted to talk to. 

“Fab,” Elyse nodded and led the way out of the square where Astra had been performing.

They wove through the streets of Jazirat, which was washed with the gold of the now setting sun. People still milled around, but no one gave Cassian a second glance. It was so odd but in a good way. He’d always got all the attention as long as he could remember and now he was as good as invisible.

“Are you new to Jazirat?” Elyse asked as they walked.

Cassian thought about his answer for a second, “Yes,” he decided. He was new to this _version_ of the city so it wasn’t a lie, not really, “I’m just passing through.” He added.

“Cool,” Elyse replied, “how long will you be here?”

“I leave again tomorrow,”

“Then we’d better show you a good time!” Elyse declared.

A good time turned out to be climbing up onto the roof of a large building that overlooked the city and eating a dinner made up of scraps of food. It was the least extravagant meal Cassian had ever had and it was perfect.

The sun was low at this point and the sky was painted beautiful shades of pink, blue and purple.

“Doesn’t the palace look beautiful from here?” Elyse sighed wistfully.

“I suppose,” Cassian replied as he bit into an apple. The last thing he wanted was to pay any attention to the palace. He wanted to focus on being free for a night.

“I’d love to go instead,” Elyse continued, “I bet it’s even more spectacular!”

“With gold and expensive things  _ everywhere _ !” Astra chimed in.

“Ooh, yeah!” Elyse nodded, “Oh to be rich, that’d be the life.”

“I’m sure it’s not all that,” Cassian mumbled, “always being told where to be and  _ who _ to be. Not getting a say in whether you get married.”

“Yeah,” Elyse shrugged, “but imagine having servants to do your every bidding?”

“I suppose that’d be nice,” Cassian admitted. He didn’t mind being waited on, it made his life very easy.

Astra bumped a shoulder into Cassian, “I reckon any extreme is a bit much,” he said, “being a prince would be cool for a bit, but I bet it’s exhausting after a while.”

Cassian just hummed a response. He was worried that if they stayed on the topic too much longer he’d give himself away. He was enjoying seeing what his life would be like if he was treated normally. He wasn't about to ruin it by blowing his cover for no reason.

The lavish world of being a prince was nice and he had to admit he liked it, but something about being completely free drew him in. At that moment, a large part of Cassian longed to be free forever. To run away from the palace for good. He looked at Elyse who was still watching the sunset. She was gorgeous in the low light. 

_ Why couldn’t the princesses presented to me be like her? _ He mused. Elyse seemed so happy. She had nowhere to be. She could just  _ exist _ . She was truly  _ free _ .


	7. Chapter 7

_Elyse._

  
There was something familiar about the man that had joined them for the evening. Elyse couldn’t quite put her finger on_ what _ was so familiar about him, but she liked Cason all the same. He was handsome, there was no question about it. He looked like he was made of stone - all perfect, chiselled angles. Elyse had to stifle a laugh when she wondered if she might cut herself if she ran a finger along one of his cheekbones. He was well spoken, too, likely from a wealthy family, there was just something about the way he spoke.

Once they’d finished eating, the three of them headed towards Elyse and Astra’s home. Cason said he had until midnight to return to his inn which gave them plenty of time to chat some more.

“So, where did you say you were going?” Elyse asked as they walked.

“Oh,” Cason shrugged, “here and there. I just like to travel.” He smiled one of his perfect, sparkling smiles. The kind that would make most people weak at the knees. The man had an air that let you know he was aware of how pretty he was, but somehow not in a cocky way. It was undeniably sexy.

At the mention of travel, Astra chimed in, “I used to love travelling, but I fell into a good routine here so haven’t for over a month. I want to take Elyse back to my home town one day.”

“I’m currently on the hunt for somewhere to settle,” Cason said, “I want to move somewhere cooler. Mokha is nice and all, but I want to experience different climates, you know?”

Elyse nodded, “I can understand that.” She really did want to travel. And she figured she would eventually, perhaps when she couldn’t get away with being a thief in Jazirat anymore. Then she could move on and she and Astra could have adventures all over the globe.

It didn’t take them too long to reach the building Elyse and Astra called home. Elyse led the way up, Cason behind her and Astra last. Once up, Elyse gave Cason a hand with the last part of the climb. It just felt like the right thing to do. She tried to be the perfect gentlewoman at all times, after all.

Cason looked around, a curious look on his face, “I know it isn’t much,” Elyse said, feeling a need to defend her home. They didn’t have guests ever really.

“No, no,” Cason stopped her, “I like it.” He smiled, “It’s… cosy.”

Not quite sure if “cosy” was a compliment Elyse smiled then walked over the gaping hole in the wall and sat down to stare out over the city. Cason took a seat next to her, while Astra went to write in his journal in the corner, humming sweetly.

Cason glanced over at Astra, intrigued, “What’s he doing?”

“Writing about the day, I think,” Elyse said, “he does it every night.”

“Huh,” Cason replied then turned to look out over the city again, “have you always lived here?”

“No,” Elyse shook her head, “I wouldn’t say I _ chose _ this life. My parents passed away leaving me to fend for myself. I’ve lived here since I could no longer afford to live in a proper house. Things have been better since I met Astra, but... “ she trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

“But you want something more?” Cason suggested.

“Yeah. That sounds about right.”

“I really get that,” Cason said, “my father wants me to get married, but I just haven’t met anyone I like and he’s getting impatient. I want to marry for love,” Cason sighed, “why doesn’t he get that?”

“Parents want what’s best,” Elyse said, “he probably wants you to be settled so you can start a family or something.”

Cason pulled a face and Elyse couldn’t help but laugh loudly, he looked so unimpressed at the idea of starting a family.

“I’m not really the fatherly type,” Cason said, “plus, I’m much too young.”

“Oh yeah, so much life to live before settling down,” Elyse agreed.

They sat in silence for a while, just enjoying each other’s company. Elyse wondered if her parents would be pushing her into marriage if they were still around. She didn’t think they would. They weren’t the type to push her to do anything, especially not marriage.

After a little while Elyse felt Cason rest his head on her shoulder, “I wish I could freeze this moment,” he whispered so softly Elyse wondered if he meant to say it out loud.

“It’s nice, isn’t it?”

Cason lifted his head to look at Elyse, “Can I ask you something bold?” He murmured, almost inaudible.

“Sure,” Elyse replied. She watched Cason’s amber eyes flicker to her lips. Her heart rate rose. Was he going to say what she thought he was going to say?

“May I kiss you?” He said.

Elyse nodded, it was so unlike her, but this stranger drew her in like no other. Cason leaned in, he was so close Elyse to feel his breath.

“THERE THEY ARE!” Elyse spun around to see men and women dressed in an all too familiar uniform. They were all brandishing their swords menacingly. Elyse felt her heart in her throat. She’d been so careful. The man who’d chased them earlier had lost them, how did he manage to send the guards after them!?

“Why are the palace guards here?” Cason said he wasn’t nearly as scared as Elyse thought he would be. In fact, he sounded _ calm_.

Elyse ignored Cason’s question and stood up to face the mob, “How did you find us?” She demanded. Astra had also stood up and walked over to Elyse.

“Now, now, we don’t need to do anything irrational,” Astra said, raising his hands out in front of him, palms towards the guards, “I’m unarmed.”

“I’m not,” Elyse growled and reached down to take a knife from its holster on her ankle, “how the hell did you find us?” She said again.

“We had a tip off,” a big, bearded man growled.

Behind them Cason had stood up and walked to stand on Elyse’s other side, “You don’t want to hurt them,” he said warningly.

“Awh, the street rats have a new friend,” the bearded guard laughed, “how _ sweet _.”

“Not just a friend,” Cason said, he rubbed his forehead vigorously and pulled down the scarf he still wore as a hood, “as Prince of Mokha I order you to lower your weapons.”

“Prince Cassian!” The guards were alarmed and quickly knelt down with their heads bowed at the sight of their prince. Elyse stared at Cassian, completely blindsided. She hadn’t recognised him, she wasn’t sure how she hadn’t, but it seemed when he wasn’t wearing expensive clothes and had his trademark henna hidden, he didn’t stand out as much.

“You’re the prince,” Elyse finally managed.

Cassian turned to her, he looked apologetic, “Yeah, I’m… I’m sorry,” he turned to the guards, “why are you here?” He demanded.

“Amiens informed us that these two are dangerous criminals who need to be apprehended,” a smaller woman said.

“How did you find us?” Elyse asked, still wielding her knife.

“Rajani overheard Amiens telling us about you and seemed very keen for us to bring you in,” the bearded guard explained.

“Rajani?” Astra turned to Cassian, “Who’s Rajani?”

“My father’s advisor,” Cassian frowned, “what does Rajani want with thieves?”

“He didn’t say,” small woman guard shrugged.

The bearded guard stood up again, “I have strict orders to put these two in prison, so if you don’t mind, your highness, we’re going to do our job. Al, escort the Prince home.”

A noodly man nodded and motioned to Cassian to follow him. Cassian stood his ground for a moment but then took a deep breath and did as he was told. Elyse watched him go, she was surprisingly disappointed to see him walking away. She never expected to _like_ Cassian, let alone feel anything for him at all.

Suddenly she felt big, strong hands gripping her arms, pulling them behind her back and locking them together with heavy shackles. For the first time since losing her parents, Elyse had no idea what to do.

* * *

The prison cell was cold and dark. They’d allowed Elyse and Astra to stay together, but they were shackled on opposite sides of the cell.

“I’m so sorry,” Elyse said for what felt like the hundredth time. She wasn’t sure how to convey just had bad she felt for getting Astra locked up, too. He didn’t deserve it.

“It’s okay,” Astra said, also for what felt like the hundredth time, “it’s not your fault.”

“It _ is _ though. If you weren’t associated with me you’d never have ended up here. You weren’t a thief before you met me.”

Astra gave Elyse a stern look, “I chose to stay with you, you dummy,”

“I know, but,” she trailed off. There wasn’t a but. She had nothing else to say. She just felt awful.

There was no denying that if it weren’t for Astra choosing to stay with her in Jazirat rather than continuing to travel the world, he’d never see the inside of a prison cell. But here they were. Stuck. Possibly forever.

“So you nearly kissed the prince,” Astra hummed.

“Oh shit, yeah,” Elyse had forgotten about that, “I don’t know what came over me.” She suddenly felt very embarrassed. Kissing a stranger wasn’t her style. Well. It was, but Astra didn’t know that about her yet.

“Would you have if he weren’t a prince?” Astra asked, seeming to be genuinely interested and non-judgemental.

Elyse just shrugged. She wasn’t sure. Everything she knew about the prince was a major turn off, but then she’d met him and he actually seemed okay. Not nearly as much of an arsehole as she’d thought.

“He’s handsome,” Astra continued, accepting Elyse’s shrug as her answer, “much more so up close. From afar he just looks a bit… full of himself.”

“I bet tonight was an act,” Elyse huffed, “I bet he was just trying to get me into bed.”

“Looked like he was succeeding,” Astra teased, Elyse shot him a glare and he stopped grinning, “C’mon, you know I’m kidding.”

“Yeah,” Elyse sighed, “I’m really sorry, Astra.”

“I know,” Astra smiled, “I hope they haven’t broken any of my instruments. Then you’ll actually have something to apologise for.” Sometimes Astra was just so… _Astra._

Eventually, despite the cold stone of the cell, the pair managed to slip into an uncomfortable and dreamless sleep.

* * *

They were rudely awoken only a few hours later by the sound of the cell door being unlocked. Elyse turned to see a tall, thin figure standing in the entrance. There was a shape on his shoulder and he held a long staff. Wicked energy radiated off him. Just his presence made the room feel cold and the hairs on the back of Elyse’s neck stand on end.

The figure stepped forward so Elyse could see his face. It was cruel and angular. His eyes were deepset and mostly in shadow still. He had a well-groomed goatee and it turned out the shape on his shoulder was a shabby looking parrot.

Elyse looked the shadowy place where his eyes were hidden, “Who are you?” She asked, her voice croaky from sleep.

“Rajani,” he said, with a wave of his staff. Elyse felt the shackles fall from her wrists. She brought her hands around to her front and rubbed her wrists, grateful to be out of the harsh bindings. She glanced at Astra to see he too had been freed.

“Why are you here?” Was Astra’s first question.

“I need your assistance,” Rajani said. His voice was venomous. Elyse didn’t like him. He was, to be blunt, fucking creepy. The bird was no better. It looked like it had seen better days, but still had the audacity to look like it thought it was better than Elyse, “Stand up.” Rajani ordered and Elyse found herself standing before she’d even realised she was going to.

Elyse went to Astra the moment they were both standing. She felt a need to protect him, “What is it you want?” She slipped his hand into her friends and gave it a soft squeeze.

“There is a cave I need you to go into and retrieve an… item from,” Rajani said, “now come on, time is of the essence.”

“Whoa now, you expect us to follow you just because you told us to?” Elyse said, folding her arms and not moving.

“Yes,” Rajani nodded and suddenly Elyse felt her legs moving against her will, “if you don’t like the feeling of being _ forced _ to move you’d better do what you’re told.”

Being forced to move was not a feeling Elyse enjoyed so she gave in and followed Rajani of her own volition. As they walked Elyse kept stealing glances at Astra. He looked sullen and tired. She imagined her face was a very similar picture.

Rajani led them to the palace stables and gestured to three horses that had been saddled and were waiting for them. Rajani hoisted himself onto the black one. Elyse followed his lead and clambered onto the bay. Astra took the remaining horse, a dappled grey.

“Are you gonna tell us anything else?” Elyse asked about ten minutes into the ride.

“I will when we’re there,” Rajani said, “I don’t want anyone overhearing.”

“Fine.” Elyse huffed.

Before long they’d left Jazirat and entered the desert. Rajani led the way along a long road that seemed to have no end. They rode for what felt like hours, but in reality, it probably wasn’t that long. Elyse attempted to talk to Astra a few times, but Rajani shushed her each time so eventually, she gave up.

Above them, the sky was cloudy and starless. It was like the world knew there was dark magic afoot.

After what felt like an eternity they stopped by a lone signpost, “We’re going to leave the road,” Rajani said, “the horses won’t be much faster on sand so we’ll be leaving them here.”

Without a word, Elyse and Astra dismounted and each led their horses to the signpost to tie them up, as did Rajani.

Once the horses were secured, Rajani stepped off the path and they followed him off the marked road and into the desert. _ We’re going to die,_ Elyse thought. This was it for her. She was being taken into the desert and would surely meet her end. 

She glanced at Astra who seemed to be working really hard to keep the worry off his face. Elyse took Astra’s hand in hers once more and squeezed it tightly. Astra glanced at her and smiled softly.

If the ride had felt like hours, the walk felt like days. No matter where Elyse looked it was just dark and endless desert. She wondered how Rajani knew where he was going, that was if he did at all.

Finally, they did come to a stop and Rajani turned to face them for the first time since they’d stepped off the road, “We’re here,” he announced.

“Where is_ here _?” Elyse asked.

“You’ll see,” he replied. Rajani then looked at his hands and slid a ring from his finger. Elyse didn’t know much about crystals, but she recognised the gem embedded in it as moonstone. It was beautiful. Rajani handed the ring to Elyse, “For protection.” He said simply.

Not expecting the answer, Elyse decided not to bother asking how a moonstone ring would protect them or what they could possibly need protecting from.

“Look, mister,” Astra finally spoke up, genuinely making Elyse jump, “why did you have us locked up and why have you taken us into the middle of the desert in the dead of night?”

Rajani sighed, “You’ll see,” was all he said before turning his back them.

“No,” Astra said more sternly than Elyse had ever heard him speak, “you’re going to tell us.”

“If you’d give me one moment!” Rajani said, finally raising his venomous voice, “You’ll find out.”

Astra folded his arms and glared at Rajani’s cloaked back, seemingly willing the man to catch on fire. Elyse hoped he’d succeed.

Then the ground started to rumble. Elyse grabbed hold to Astra and looked around, terrified. She’d heard of earthquakes but never experienced one before. The sand shook violently and there was a deafening cracking sound coming from all around them. Elyse decided to put on the moonstone ring, hoping that it would somehow protect her from the earthquake rattling around them.

All of a sudden there was an almighty crack that put the other cracking to shame as a bright white-yellow light shot out of the ground. Then another and another, followed by more. The lights joined together to form one big tear in the ground with intense light shooting upwards in an endless wall.

“What the hell is going on!?” Elyse yelled over the noise. Rajani didn’t need to answer for the ground started to open wider and a shape rose up from the gaping hole. The shape was a gigantic tiger’s head. It was made of sand and had two glowing yellow eyes that Elyse could feel in her soul.

“Who disturbs my slumber?” The tiger roared fiercely.


	8. Chapter 8

_Elyse._

“WHAT IS THAT?!” Elyse yelled at Rajani.

“That is The Cave of Wonders,” Rajani said simply, “you are going to go in there and get me lamp.”

“A lamp?” Elyse stared at the giant tiger head in front of them, “In there?”

“Yes,” Rajani nodded, “you are The Diamond in The Rough and you the only one able to go inside.”

“Huh?” Elyse walked up to Rajani and grabbed his shoulders so he’d finally look at her, “What?”

Rajani rolled his eyes, “Inside that gave there is a lamp and I want it. The cave won’t let me in, but it’ll let you. Do you want to keep wasting your life as a street rat or do you want to make a name for yourself.”

Elyse let go of his shoulders and stared into the man’s dark eyes then turned her head to the giant tiger that had risen from the ground. She couldn’t deny that she was curious. She had a desire to learn what was within.

“What about me?” Astra asked.

“You’ll probably be allowed,” Rajani said flippantly, “it probably won’t kill you.”

Elyse slowly turned to look at Rajani, “If it doesn’t let him in then I’m not going.”

Rajani actually growled, “We’ll ask the cave then,” he turned to look up at the looming cave entrance, “I have brought you The Diamond in The Rough and her … sidekick.”

“I am her friend! Not her _ sidekick _!” Astra hissed, stepping up to Elyse’s side, defensively.

“Yes, yes,” Rajani hissed.

The cave moved again. It turned its great head down to look at Astra and Elyse, considering them for a moment, “Both may enter.” Once it’d finished speaking, the cave left it’s enormous mouth open, waiting for Elyse and Astra to walk inside.

“Excellent, in you both go,” Elyse felt Rajani’s hand on her back, pushing her towards the mouth, “be careful, doing touch anything other than the lamp and don’t die.”

“Do we have a choice?” Elyse asked.

“No,” Rajani replied with a hard push and the two friends stumbled into the cave. The mouth shut behind them plunging them into darkness.


	9. Chapter 9

_ Renard. _

  
“What did you do?!” Ren looked over his shoulder from where he sat at his desk to see a very annoyed looking Cassian stood in his doorway. The henna on his forehead was partially visible and his hair, for the first time ever, wasn't perfect. Still looked good though, in an imperfect way.

“You’re back early,” Ren replied coolly.

Cassian marched over to him and grabbed Ren’s shirt with enough force that he pulled Ren out of his chair into a standing position, “Yeah. I am.”

“Would you mind letting go of me?” Ren asked, his voice remained calm and collected. He'd dealt with scarier men than Cassian Thiarin.

"Why did you send those guards?" Cassian demanded and dropped Ren back into the chair.

Ren fixed his shirt and stood up to remind Cassian that _ he was taller,_ "I didn't send any guards after you."

"I know," Cassian hissed, "but you sent some after the people I met and that meant the guards found me."

"Ah." Once Ren had finished in the garden with Cassian, he'd gone straight to the chief guard and informed him of the street rats helping themselves to all and sundry in the Jazirat market. He hadn't for one second expected Cassian to find them. If he had, he'd never have sent the guards out.

"Yeah. Ah." Cassian folded his arms huffily, "You ruined a good evening with that shit."

"I'm sorry, I never expected you to end up spending your evening with thieves," Ren explained and he really was sorry. He knew Cassian needed the time out on his own and having his freedom cut short by guards wasn't exactly helpful.

Cassian huffed again, "Well, next time, be more considerate and don't send guards into the city the same night I'm out."

"Understood," Ren nodded and Cassian stormed out without another word.

With a quiet sigh, Ren walked over to his bedside table and opened the small cupboard. From inside he pulled out a nearly empty bottle of red wine and took a swig. If he'd known how annoying the prince was, he'd never have taken the job.

The prince was arrogant, irritating, clueless and so many other things a sultan should not be.

"Heavens help Mokha when he becomes the ruler," Ren said, raising his wine bottle in a toast to the ceiling before taking another drink. It was good wine. He wasn't sure why Cassian didn't like it, but free wine was free wine.

The wine ran out much too fast and rather than go to sleep (he was still too frustrated with Cassian) Ren grabbed a candle and marched down into the wine cellar to claim a new bottle. As long as he picked a cheaper bottle he doubted there'd be any real issue. 

Ren pushed open the wine cellar door and stepped inside. It was cool and the air smelled slightly musty. Ren hadn't actually been in there before and hadn't expected it to be quite so big.

He inspected the racks one by one and wondered if he was being a hypocrite "borrowing" the Sultan's wine when he'd sent guards after thieves just hours earlier. He decided not to dwell on that thought.

The supply seemed endless and everything was of the highest quality. Just as Ren was giving up finding something he felt he could morally borrow, his eyes fell on a note pinned to a small wine rack.

Ren held the candle close and murmured the words aloud, “If I sent you get a bottle of the special wine, these are what I mean. These wines are reserved for people I don’t like.” It had to be the most Cassian note Ren had ever seen. Considering Cassian only served the wine to people he disliked and Ren was definitely on the disliked list that night, Ren grabbed the nearest bottle and went back upstairs.

He carefully shut his door behind him and opened the bottle with ease. Ren decided that with a new bottle it was worth him actually using a glass, so he grabbed his glass of water, downed it, and replaced it with wine.

“To the prince!” Ren toasted, followed by a laugh and a long drink. The wine was absolutely fine. Nothing special, but completely drinkable.

Ren flopped down in bed and stared up at the ceiling thoughtfully. He wondered how he’d found himself where he now lay.

He’d grown up in the small mountainside town Dunnard as an only child. His parents owned the hot springs and he’d never really wanted for much. Winter would bring tourists from all over the world and the hot springs would be full from the moment the doors opened.

Ren accepted from a very early age that he didn’t see his parents much in the winter, which he didn’t really mind. It’d meant he was able to go on adventures on his own without adult supervision because his parents were much too busy to notice that Ren had told his babysitter they weren’t needed that day.

A tipsy and lopsided smile formed on Ren’s face. He decided at that moment that he’d visit the hot springs over the winter. The Sultan would be able to find someone to cover him for a month, he was sure of it.

With his mind filled with childhood memories and wine, Ren slipped into sleep.

* * *

Ren was awoken by the sound of pounding on his door. He sat bolt upright and looked around his room. The sun was high in the sky, signalling it was much later in the morning than he usually woke up. His head ached with a hangover, reminding Ren that he’d fallen asleep drunk. He glanced at the empty glass lying on his bed and sighed in relief when he realised he’d finished it _ before _ falling asleep. The next realisation was that he’d slept in his clothes.

“Amiens?” Cassian’s voice called irritably from the other side of the door. Ren groaned. He didn’t need to see Cassian when he’d woken up with a headache.

Very carefully and groggily, Ren stood up and shuffled to the door. He hadn’t realised just how much he’d had to drink.

Gingerly, Ren pulled open the door to his bedroom to reveal Cassian looking annoyingly perfect, “Yes sire?” Ren croaked.

“It’s noon, what are you still doing in here?” Cassian asked.

As far as Ren was aware he had another day off. The Sultan had given him two days to make up for how little time Ren had got to himself since the princess visits started. Ren coughed in hopes that it would clear his throat, “I _ was _ sleeping,” Ren confessed.

“You’re normally awake being a pain by now,” Cassian huffed, “I need your help.”

Ren only just stopped himself from rolling his eyes. Apparently he was guard turned errand boy now, “I helped you yesterday.”

Cassian was apparently not in the mood, “Yes, Amiens, I am aware you helped me yesterday. I want you to help me today as well.”

“I need coffee,” Ren declared, turning around and walking back into his room, leaving Cassian standing in the door.

“I will send a servant to get you some,” Cassian sighed, “may I come in?”

“Since when did you ask?” Ren scoffed, walking over to his dressing table to retrieve his razor.

“Since you glared daggers at me when I woke you up in the middle of the night,” Cassian replied, still not entering Ren’s room.

“Either go away or come in,” Ren said. He looked into his mirror and sighed. He was a mess.

Cassian walked over to stand behind Ren and look at his own reflection, carefully fixing his hair, “You look terrible, Amiens.”

Ren glared at Cassian in the mirror, “I am aware.”

“I can send a servant to get you some warm water if you like?” Cassian offered. Ren just squinted at him in the way of a response to which Cassian rolled his eyes and stood up straight, “those people you had locked up last night have vanished and I need to you to help me find them.”

“Oh,” Ren straightened up too and turned to face Cassian. He genuinely looked concerned, which was a weird look on Cassian. Ren had only ever seen him looking concerned for himself.

“Hm. I refuse to be seen with someone who looks so shabby, so clean yourself up Amiens, I’ll send some decent clothes for you to wear,” Ren started to protest and Cassian just raised a hand, “you look common, Amiens and I don’t want you looking like a guard either. Now, you have half an hour to make yourself look presentable before we leave. I have spoken to father and the chief of the guards and they have both given us permission to leave the palace.”

And with that Cassian turned around and walked out of Ren’s room. _ He really does like to make an exit, _ Ren thought to himself before setting about fixing his mess of red hair.

Once his hair was fixed and presentable, there was another knock on the door, “Coffee and warm water for you, Amiens,” came a small voice from the other side of the door. Ren walked over and pulled the door open to take the tray the servant was carrying. He bid her goodbye and shut the door with his foot as she scurried off.

Ren poured the steaming coffee into a mug and breathed in the bitter smell happily. Nothing quite like coffee in the morning. _ Or afternoon in this case,_ Ren corrected remembering he’d overslept.

Once he’d washed and shaved, Ren pulled on his boots (at least he hadn’t slept in those) and headed to Cassian’s room where he assumed he had clothes for him.

He knocked twice, “Enter,” came Cassian’s voice and ren pushed open the door. Cassian was carefully wiping the dried henna from his forehead having reapplied it. He looked at Ren through the mirror, “clothes are on the chez lounge.”

There was a pile of expensive-looking black clothing on the chez lounge as Cassian had said. Ren picked up the kurta, it was beautiful. It was black with gold edging and on closing inspection, Ren noticed that it had a paisley pattern which was only just visible. Ren had a feeling it probably cost more than he earned in a month.

“I’ve got good taste, haven’t I?” Cassian said from behind Ren having snuck up on him.

“I hate to agree with you, but yes,” Ren said. He glanced around for somewhere to change that wasn’t in front of Cassian, but then remembered the way Cassian had all but drooled over him a couple of nights ago so he just started to strip down right there.

He could feel Cassian’s eyes on him as he pulled off his shirt to reveal his well-toned back to the prince. The pullups paid off. Not wanting to make too much of a show of it, Ren dressed quickly.

“You can wear your own boots,” Cassian said, motioning to the black leather boots Ren had walked in wearing, “I’ve had two horses saddled up. I trust you know how to ride?”

“Yes,” Ren said, “_I know how to ride _,”

“Marvellous,” Cassian clasped his hands together, “come on then.” And with that he turned on his heel and left the room, Ren close behind.


	10. Chapter 10

_Elyse._

  
The darkness was intense. It felt very close. Elyse gripped onto Astra for fear of losing him in the dark cave. She had no idea where to start. Or how to start.

“How do we find anything when we can’t see?” Astra said as if he was reading her mind.

“No idea,” Elyse replied, “Hey! Cave! We can’t see you dick!” And suddenly there was light, “Huh.” Elyse couldn’t help but laugh. The whole situation was utterly mad. Completely, absolutely mad. She looked at Astra who was looking around the cave in awe. Elyse followed his gaze and had to admit that it was stunning.

Everything was washed in warm, orange light. The walls and ground were made of sandstone and there were piles upon piles of treasure as far as the eye could see. Amongst the heaps of loose gold and jewels, there were statues that looked to be made of gold. It was impressive and vast. Elyse couldn’t see an end of the cave. She turned to look where they’d entered, but the cave was closed and what had been the entrance was now a wall.

“What now?” Astra said, still looking around.

“We find the lamp,” Elyse said, “somehow.”

Astra chewed his lip, “I suppose our best bet is to just walk forward?” He suggested. Elyse nodded, it seemed like their only option and so they started their walk through the cave into the unknown.

“So you nearly kissed Cassian,” Astra smirked.

Elyse shot her friend a look, “I thought we’d dropped that,”

“We had,” Astra shrugged, “but that was before we got stuck in a weird cave with only each other for company.”

“Hm,” Elyse hadn’t been thinking about it. She hadn’t had time to. She wondered if Cassian cared that she’d been locked up by his guards. Probably not. He didn’t seem to care about anything other than himself. But she’d seen a different side of the prince now. Seen that he felt trapped in his royal life. Perhaps he wasn’t a complete dick.

“He’s cute in person,” Astra said apparently deciding to have the conversation by himself, “less uppety when he isn’t draped in gold, don’t you think?”

“I’ve always thought he was good looking,” Elyse said, “in a he’s a bit of a bitch kind of way.”

“Hmm, yeah, I’d agree with that- AH!” Elyse turned to see Astra had barely caught himself after tripping.

“Are you okay?” Elyse said looking around to see if she needed to hit anyone (or any _ thing _ ) for hurting her friend.

Astra nodded and waved Elyse away, “Yeah, I’m good, just tripped,” he looked at the ground, “a rug?” Elyse looked down at the rug that was sticking out from under a pile of gold.

“What’s a rug doing in here?” Elyse poked it with her foot, “I like rugs as much as the next guy, but it doesn’t strike me as treasure.” It was a pretty rug, Elyse could give it that, but still  _ a rug. _

The pair shrugged at each other and continued on through the cave, not giving the rug a second thought. Elyse had a feeling they wouldn’t be able to get out unless they found the lamp for Rajani. Now Elyse thought about it, a lamp was also a very odd thing to be kept in a cave.

Elyse looked at the moonstone ring on her finger. It shimmered in the light, making it look almost alive. There was a feeling of dread in the back of her mind when she looked at it. Being given a seemingly normal item and told it’s “for protect” didn’t fill Elyse with confidence. Quite the opposite, in fact.

“Can I look at it?” Astra asked. Elyse turned to him, he was gesturing at her hand where the ring was. Elyse nodded and slid it off her finger and gave it to Astra.

“Can you actually read minds or is it a coincidence that you always  _ seem _ to?” Elyse asked as Astra inspected the ring.

Astra shrugged, “I think it’s because I’m an empath,” he said without looking up from the ring. He held it up to the light only to discover that wasn’t a proper source of the light, they just surrounded by glowing, “my parents always said I had a knack for knowing what to say when.”

“I’m not convinced you don’t just straight-up read my mind,” Elyse laughed, “are you looking for anything specific on that ring or?” She added.

“I’m seeing if there’s anything about it that seems magical,” Astra explained, he handed the ring back to Elyse, “because if it offers protection it probably has an enchantment of some sort on it.”

“Right,” Elyse nodded, slipping the ring back onto her finger. They continued on in companionable silence. Elyse was surprised how relaxed she felt considering it all. She had no idea if she’d see the light of day again, but she had Astra and he was good company so it wasn’t all bad.

They walked for ages. Elyse wasn’t sure how long, but it felt like forever. Astra had started to hum softly, a song Elyse had heard him play before. The sound of his melodic humming was comforting. She loved how musical her friend was. He knew just when to play his lute or hum or sing or whatever else he chose to do. Elyse closed her eyes for a moment. It was all okay. Everything was fine-

THUD! Elyse was knocked to the ground and Astra stopped humming instantly, “What the?!” Elyse sat up and looked around for what had knocked her over, “Holy shit the rug is hovering.” Astra was staring at the hovering rug, utterly baffled. Elyse stood up and glared at the rug, “did you just push me?” She asked. The rug did a backflip that Elyse had a feeling meant yes, “why?” The rug shrugged.  _ The rug shrugged _ . Too much weird. Too much weird magic.

“The rug is alive,” Astra muttered.

“Yeah, I see that,” Elyse replied, “I don’t like this, rugs aren’t meant to be alive.”

“Hm,” Astra considered the rug for a moment they stuck out a hand to it, “Hi, my name is Verdant Astra,”

“ _ Did you just introduce yourself to a rug? _ ” Elyse stared at her friend, not sure what to say.  _ Too much weird. _

“It’s alive,” Astra shrugged, “it felt rude not to,”

“ _ It’s a rug, Astra, _ ” Elyse let out a short laugh, “a hovering rug.”

“That doesn’t have a good ring to it,” Astra mused, he turned to look at the rug again, “do you have a name?” The rug nodded.

“Good lord it emotes,” Elyse ran her hands through her hair, “okay, cool. What is your name?”

The rug quickly set up pushing gold coins out the way and started to draw in the dust on the ground with one of the tassels that hung from each of its corners. It spelt out Carpet.

“We were close,” Elyse said, “okay, Carpet, my name is Elyse,  _ I can’t believe I just introduced myself to a carpet _ ,” she added mostly to herself.

Astra was taking it in his stride. He knelt down so he was level with Carpet, “Do you happen to know where a lamp is, lil’ guy?” Carpet did it’s nodding thing, “I say we follow Carpet, they seem to know where to go,” Astra announced.

“It’s living decor, but sure, let’s trust it,” Elyse wondered if she was going mad, it was possible.

Carpet reached one of its corners around to tap its back, “I think they want us to get on,” Astra said and Carpet nodded. Astra didn’t waste a moment and stepped onto Carpet who’d formed itself into steps. Deciding that it would be easier to just go with it, Elyse also stepped on.

She sat down behind Astra and put her arms around his waist. Astra gripped onto the front of Carpet and away they went. Whooshing through the cave at an alarming speed, yet Elyse didn’t feel like she was going to fall off. Perhaps it was the fact that she was holding Astra so tight she might break his spine.

Travelling by flying carpet was much more efficient than walking and before long they reached a lake of dark and murky liquid. Elyse wasn’t sure what it was, but she hoped it was water. In the centre of the lake was a tall pillar with a ladder going up it. On the top of the pillar, on a smaller pedestal, was a lamp. Nothing fancy, just a simple oil lamp.

“I think that’s it!” Astra said, pointing at the lamp.

Elyse nodded, “I reckon you’re right, Carpet, fly us close to the lamp!” Carpet did as it was told and swooped towards the pillar so they hovered next to the pedestal. Elyse reached out to the lamp and grabbed it from where it sat.

Suddenly the air was filled with rumbling. The cave shook violently, causing dust and rocks to fall from the ceiling, “Fuck!” Elyse shouted, “Carpet, get us out!” She slapped the Carpet like one might smack a horse to get it to go faster. Carpet didn’t need telling twice and whizzed back the way they came at top speed. Elyse and Astra had to cling on for dear life in order to not fall off.

Carpet ducked and dodged the falling stones, but one still hit Elyse’s arm, it was sharp enough that it cut into her exposed skin, “Ow!” Elyse buried her forehead in Astra’s shoulder, biting her lip through the pain.

Just up ahead of them they could see the entrance to the cave had opened once more, this time it was several metres from the floor. Elyse could see the outstretched hand of Rajani, “Quickly! Before it closes again!” He yelled over the rumbling.

“C’mon Carpet!” Elyse said, but the moment Carpet saw Rajani, it slowed to a stop, “What are you doing?!” Elyse yelled, “We have to get out of here!”

Carpet started to float backwards, slowly.

“Get back here!” Rajani bellowed, “I need that lamp!”

“Elyse, I don’t think Carpet trusts Rajani,” Astra said over his shoulder.

“Jump to me,” Rajani shouted, “I’ll help you out! You’ll be stuck in there if you don’t leave soon!”

Elyse felt deep in her gut that something was off, “Why do you want the lamp?” She called out to Rajani. Carpet had backed away just enough that it wasn’t safe for them to jump off to the new entrance.

“We don’t have time for that!” Rajani yelled back, “Throw me the lamp and then jump!”

“Elyse, I don’t trust him, I think he’ll leave us here once he has the lamp,” Astra said quietly as he shuffled around on Carpet to face her, “I think we might be safer if we find shelter in here.”

“Fine,” Elyse nodded, “Carpet, find us somewhere to hide.” It was more than happy to get far away from Rajani and zoomed away, deeper into the cave.

Behind them, the pair could hear Rajani yelling as the cave’s entrance closed, possibly for the last time.


End file.
